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While Aliexpress and Temu are extremely popular nowadays, artists and hobby painters often deem art supplies bought on these platforms useless and really bad quality. While it might be true in many cases, I have 5 art supplies I purchased from Aliexpress sellers that are absolutely worth trying if you are on a budget!
Here is my list of 5 Aliexpress art supplies that actually work, costs a fraction of the "branded" art supplies and totally worth the money:
1. Dainayw Squirrel Hair Watercolor Brushes
You can find them here
These brushes are a very good dupe for the Silver Brushes Black Velvet Line. A set of 4 costs around 17 USD. They hold water very well, they keep their shape, don't shed and really good overall round brushes.
Their tip is not that sharp & pointy as the original Black Velvet brushes but other than that, they are totally worth for both professional and hobby watercolorist.
2. Paul Rubens 100% Cotton Watercolor Paper
Paul Rubens is a well known Chinese brand and you can also purchase their products on Amazon in the meantime. I own a lot of Paul Rubens supplies and love many of them! One of my favorite is their 100% cotton watercolor blocks.
You can find it here.
The quality is really good and the price is still much lower than Arches or Fabriano. I like the facts that they are glued, so I don't have to necessarily tape it down.
3. SeamiArt 12 Colors Solid Watercolor Set
This one might be controversial because the colors are totally not "artist" quality. Means they don't have pigment information, I highly doubt they are lightfast and many of the colors contain white pigment as well (so means they are a bit more opaque). But they are fun and easy to work with! They are not chalky like many cheap colors and if you work in thin layers, they are pretty much translucent.
You can find it here.
I have used them in this video, you can check it out how they perform:
4. Silicone Foldable Water Cup
You can find the one I bought here.
It might not be the sexiest art supply but it is super useful! It cost half of what the same would cost on Amazon and even less of the branded ones (like Faber Castel e.g. has exactly the same).
One thing you should know about these simpler, mass manufactured art supplies: ALL ARE MADE IN CHINA! Even the one you buy on Jacksons, the one on Amazon or the one from Faber-Castell. So if you want to get a good deal and skip paying the profit of the middle-men, buy it on Aliexpress or Temu.
5. Ceramic Mixing Palette
Same deal as with the silicone water cup, unless it is handmade by an artisan, it is most probably made in China! I remember buying my first ceramic mixing palette on Jacksons after I decided I was done with plastic palettes.. and it was a game changer! Ever since I managed to get a collection of 8-9 different ceramic palettes, many from Aliexpress.
Here is what I purchased multiple times already:
You can find it here.
All-in-all, there are some good art supplies on Aliexpress (I own a lot of them :D), and many of the simpler supplies are anyway made in China, so don't be afraid to handpick some that suit your art practice & save money.